Slave
by Libido
Summary: With Winry as his hostage, Envy finds out just how much Edward will pay to make sure she is safe. But will getting Winry back be worth it? Especially when the stakes rise for himself as a trading chip. EdxWinry EnvyxEd
1. Will

A large, booming crack resounded as wood his cement, and an old, rusty-hinged door was kicked free from it's frame and flown half way across the dank, wet room to finally settle with a thud that echoed throughout the enclosed area. Moonlight poured through the new-found opening like flood water through a dam, and a large rectangle of light graced the very dim room- the only source of light coming from the small square windows at the very top of the facility- a good hundred feet up, or probably more.

Then, a silhouette of a person, cutting into the newly made moonlight square, formed. It was relatively short, even though the shadow had elongated his limbs. Hands clenched at his sides, and golden hair snapping in the wind in an angry flurry of activity there, in all his glory, stood Edward Elric, the elder of the two sons of Hohenheim and Trisha Elric. A deep, furied scowl sat on his face, as his equally blonde eyebrows furrowed over his golden, catlike eyes. His muscles were tense, as if he was ready to spring at any moment. Then, he opened his mouth and shouted, "Envy you bastard!" into the dark building.

Nothing answered the boy as he raised his lip in a snarl and called again, his voice still not fully done reverberating off the walls, "ENVY. YOU MOTHER FUCKING BASTARD. COME OUT HERE AND FIGHT." in a furied, somewhat-hoarse voice. There was a soft thud, but in the aftermath of Edward's screaming, one could feel the silence suffocating them. Anything could be heard. The golden-eyed child looked up, his scowl still deeply etched on his face as his golden eyes scanned for something, anything. His eyes had just begun adjusting to the light (or lack thereof) when blinding, fluorescent lights snapped on.

With a growl, Edward quickly shut his eyes, rubbing them quickly before opening them a bit, squinting in the too-brightness. Sometimes dark was better then too much light. And this was definitely too much. Edward grit his teeth and spread his feet, hands still clenched at his sides. "ENVY YOU FUCKING BASTARD,." he called once more, "WHERE ARE YOU?"

He heard a soft thud from behind him, and Edward spun on the heel of his black boot. Slowly, his eyes were readjusting. He stood there for a moment before there he saw him. About ten feet away. A tall, long haired, boy. He stood there mockily, a gloved hand on his bare hip as a toothy grin climbed up his face, "You called?" he purred in a slightly accented female voice.

Edward clenched his fists further, eyes narrowing as he spat, "Where the hell did you put her?" he demanded, looking as though not being able to kill the other boy was hell for him. Before giving him a chance to react he growled, taking a threatening step forward, "What did you do to her?" he questioned once again, hatred flaring in his eyes like liquid fire.

The other put on a shocked face, "What? Me? Do anything to her? Oh, Edward. You must really doubt my integrity." he said, in mock woe. Finally, his grin returned, "But all seriousness aside. I haven't done anything with your feisty little friend." he purred, "Though, she may be a tad hungry." he commented distractedly as he inspected his nails vainly.

Edward let out a roar and lunged at him, kicking his feet out from under him and pinning him down, his arm an automail blade hovering not even a centimeter from his neck. "Give her back." he demanded darkly. "Give her back...Or else." deep inside, the blonde knew he shouldn't have said those words, as it was foolish to. Honestly, the homunucli- which Envy clearly was, marked by the tattoo of oroburos on his thigh- the dragon eating its own tail circled around a six-pointed star- were a group a human dolls that could never be harmed unless someone removed their only life source- the philosopher's stone.

"Ooooh." Envy purred silkily, smirking, even though he had a deadly blade aimed at his throat. "If not," he started, venom pouring out of his words as his legs slowly became conjoined to form a snake's tail, "what'll happen?" he asked, "You'll cut my poor little throat?" he asked in faux distress as the ring of white light continued to his hips where it stopped. With that last little question, he whipped the tail up, sliding it around his neck and flipping so Edward was on bottom, "Ooh," he continued mockingly, "I'm frightened." he said, voice oozing satisfaction.

Edward sneered at him, spitting into the face of the half-snake boy, "I'll rip you apart!" he threatened evilly as he felt his hands being forced over his head. He thrashed, moving any part of his body he could to get away from him. He closed his eyes and turned his head to the side, still bucking in a furied, vain attempt to be freed from the shape shifter's hold.

"And if you do," Envy began slowly, chuckling evilly as he loomed over the much smaller boy, his pale skin gleaming in the fluorescent lighting. "I'll just form again." he said simply, grinning wickedly as he gave him a smug wink. Then, with a flash of white light, he vanished- replaced with a large python, which slid back and changed once more into a bored looking Envy, inspecting his nails. "Why do you even care?" he dripped, glancing up at Edward before continuing with his nails, picking at something for a moment before continuing, "You never seemed to care much for this stupid human. In fact, I remember you distinctly saying to others. 'She's my mechanic, nothing more'." he glanced up, grinning from ear to ear like the Cheshire cat, "Does little Chibi-san feel something for his mechanic?" he asked mockingly.

Edward spun up from his position, staring down Envy with a furious glare, hands clenched at his sides as he slowly brought them up and clapped, transmuting his automail into a blade once more. "It's none of your business!" he snapped darkly and quickly, not missing a beat. "You wouldn't understand anyway, you heartless monster!" he snapped as he charged at Envy with a holler, swinging recklessly, "Tell me where she is!" he cried.

Envy looked hurt, putting a hand to his chest, "Aw, Edo! You're so emotionally abusing!" he cried, looking hurt. Simply, he dodged Edward by jumping on what appeared to be an ancient crate. He put his hands on his hips, "That's no way to treat the captor of your girlfriend, either. What happens if you kill me, huh?" he asked simply, "Who'll tell you where your girlfriend is?" he purred smugly, "She may be dead of starvation by the time you get to her in this place." he waved his arms to the large warehouse, "For all you know, she could be in this crate." he stomped his foot on the crate with a malicious chuckle.

Edward stopped at the base of the crate, panting angrily as he inhaled deeply and got wits enough to, with a large, long sigh, say, "What do you want, Envy?" reluctantly through his, once again, clenched teeth. It was killing him to have to ask Envy what he wanted instead of just whopping his ass, like he should be doing. He narrowed his golden, cat-like eyes at Envy, as if targeting his prey.

Envy grinned, "What do I want?" he asked wickedly, jumping from the crate and leaning on it thoughtfully. "Well, as Envy, I want many things, if you can believe it." he glanced at the short alchemist with twinkling violet eyes. When he saw Edward was about to kill him, Envy's grin grew about five times the size. "Well, little Edward.." he trailed off, "I want you." he said finally, "You and nothing more, nothing less. By saying 'you', I mean your body...soul..." he stepped past Edward and bent down to whisper in his ear, "will..."

Edward willed a shrug away, "Fine!" he said without thinking, though part of his mind- most probably the most reasonable side- was screaming not to. "I'll do it." he said finally, his lip twitching upwards in a sneer. "I'll do it. But you have to take me to her. I need to see her leave without you harming her!" he demanded. Then, with much reluctance, he added, "You can do whatever you want to me, after. Just let her go." he growled.

Envy let his malicious grin grow even further before commenting in a smug, pompous tone, "Oh, GOODIE. I had so HOPED you would say that!" he said, giggling. Then he snapped his fingers. From the far end of the room, a large chain began to move with dull grinding and creaking noises, "You see, Edward," Envy began, "This used to be a meat packing plant. I decided for it to hold your favorite little mass murderer and your favorite little girlfriend."

Out from the far left of the room, Winry was exposed, feet barely touching the ground. She was tied by her wrists on a hook on the chain, and walking out from behind her with a large knife was Barry the Chopper, smirking wickedly within his armor encasing. Winry was pale, and her face seemed gaunt. She had a dirty rag tied around her mouth as a gag, and her clothes were torn in some places, but seemed to be untouched overall. She had little and deep scratches ranging everywhere on her body, on her exposed arms, neck, shoulders, face, ankles, and feet. Barry had toyed with her. Envy waved for him to go collect Winry.

Edward turned to Envy, "You told me she wasn't harmed!" he snarled, keeping Barry within view. "She sure as hell looks harmed to me!" he snapped darkly as he slowly made his way- walking crab-style- over to her, and keeping his gold gaze on the two villians. Quickly, with his free hand, he untied Winry and set her to her feet lightly, working the gag out of her mouth. Softly, he asked her, "Are you alright?"

Winry looked up at him, "Edward.." she said in a hoarse voice, then hugged him tightly, holding in sobs as she muffled herself in his shoulder. "I'm..I'm sorry, Edward. I.."

Edward looked at her, pulling away, "it's alright, Winry. Really, it is." he said with a small smile, "Now get going, alright? I meet you down the road, I still have to take care of these two." he lied confidently, hugging her to him, "I'm just happy you're safe." he said slowly

Winry smiled and stood shakily, "I..Edward, I.." when he looked up at her, she felt her heart flutter within it's rib cage. She blushed, "Come out quickly, okay?" she asked him under her breath. After a moment of eying them, she added, "I..I love you, Edward. Don't die." before hugging him once more and stepping back.

Edward blushed scarlet, nodding softly, "I..I love you too.." he said to her as she stepped back.

In the background, Envy made a little retching noise and stepped forward, grabbing Winry by the shoulders, "Now, this has all been very cute," he felt Winry stiffen in his grip, and his eyes flashed. Ah, what mere contact can do to mortals. "But I do believe it's time for you to go." and with that, he shoved her towards the broken door.

Edward stepped forward, "You aren't to touch her, Envy!" he snapped, "Remember our deal!" he called furiously.

Envy looked disheartened, but then brightened quickly, "Well, then. I guess you'll have to do it for me." he said finally. "Shove her out." he ordered Edward, standing tall and pointing at Winry who's pale blue eyes grew wide. When Edward glared spitefully at him, he smoothly reminded him, "Remember, Edo. You're mine, now. Body, soul, and will. You're mine to command, don't you remember?" he asked mockingly, looking down at Edward superiorly.

Edward scowled, and, fighting all his pride, he stepped forward and put his hands on Winry's shoulders. "Im sorry, Win.." he said softly and pushed her outside. When she tripped over the door and stumbled, he bit his lip. Winry looked up at him, eyes wide in surprise, "I'm really sorry, Win.." he said and watched her get up slowly, taking a step back. Edward followed, and, with a final small wince, shut his eyes and shoved her out. He stood at the door, watching Winry stumble to her feet.

"Edward, I...What's..What're you..?" she looked confused, tired, and sick. Edward frowned.

"Go, Winry." he said finally after a moment of silence.

Then, from behind him, there was a flash of light on a blade and Barry stood next to him. In his hollow, manic voice, he purred, "Yes. You heard him, GO." Edward cringed, but didn't say anything, as Winry stepped back and ran.

Edward closed his eyes and looking down. Only slow clapping brought him to his senses. Edward looked up, turning. He wasn't in any hurry to see what would await him. Barry had left, the Fullmetal Alchemist noted dully. But the person he wanted gone..No luck. Still standing in the middle of the room was Envy, a grin spread over his face. He began making his way to his doom, that much he was sure of. "What the hell are you going to do to me?" he asked darkly, glowering up at Envy.

Envy grinned, "Now, now, my little pet." he purred as he slung an arm around Edward's shoulders. "I can't even begin to TELL you what I am going to do to you. And wouldn't it be better if you just..found out...anyway?" he purred silkily in his ear. He felt Edward shudder subconsciously. "But..Hopefully you, too, will enjoy my...efforts...if you cooperate. You never know. You could find the thrill of being with me...well, thrilling." he purred, slowly licking the shell of Edward's ear as he twined around the boy like a cat.

Edward shuddered once again and stepped back angrily, "Don't get any ideas you sick fuck! There's no way in hell I'm going to 'cooperate' with you!" he sputtered furiously. He felt an arm snake around his waist and he stumbled back, "What the FUCK, Envy!" he snarled furiously, glaring heatedly at him.

Envy chuckled, moving forward once more, "Ah, ah, ah, my little Edo. You're mine. A deal is a deal. You want me to leave you to Barry and go after your little girlfriend, now, would you?" he saw Edward visibly flinch, though try not to, "Exactly." he commented smugly, "Which means..." with a blink, the brackish-haired teen had Edward pinned to the wall, looming down at him, "you're mine." and with that, he disrupted Ed's undoubtably rude retort with a kiss.

Edward struggled with all he had to break free, moving his arms and squirming. When Envy finally let him out of the lip-lock, Edward cursed vividly and spat, "What is this?! Am I fulfilling some sort of sick, perverted, pedophiliac lust you've had for me, you sick FUCK?!" he snarled. "I knew you were screwed up, but this, this is just–" he was interrupted by yet another kiss.

Envy was cold, like the doll he was. His mouth, which would normally be warm, was cold, and when Envy licked Edward's lips with his tongue, he got goose bumps. The change was unbelievable, yet, being the scientist he was, he couldn't help but be intrigued. As Envy licked his lips, Edward rolled them tighter in. He felt Envy then shove his tongue past his lips, past his teeth, to wrap around Edward's own tongue, their teeth clicking from the impact.

When Envy let go, he smirked down at him, licking his lips. "To answer your question, Edo." he purred, "As a homunculus, the only one who feels lust is, well, Lust. But, my little chibi.." he purred, looming over him wickedly, "You're fulfilling more then you'll be able to comprehend."


	2. Time

I intended for this chapter to be a bit...Broken up. So if you don't understand all of it, don't worry. And the time passage goes a bit fast, but it'll be slowed down for the rest of the time, and I'll explain everything next chapter, ho'kai? x3

-x-

Five months. At least, that's what he had counted. It had been five months since Edward had gotten the letter proclaiming Envy had taken Winry. Five months since he bravely tracked them down in a week's time to the old, rotten, dank concrete nest that was known as a warehouse. It had been five months since they had both confessed their true feelings for one another…

And five months that he had been taken hostage in trade for her.

It was hard, living under a soul like Envy, whose emotions were as rampant as the very ocean tides many sailors rely on. Edward, however, was doing no relying. He would never do any relying, so long as Envy was there. He kept his chin up, though mentally he was breaking. It was hard, to imagine a strong willed proclaimed 'prodigy' or finally snapping. And it seemed like a nearly impossible feat for one such as Envy to accomplish.

However, within five months, Envy had Edward scared. Scared, not for his life, but for the ones he cared about. He knew that if he ran away, fled, vanished, disappeared, like he knew he could do, Envy would hunt him down. Not only him, but Winry, Alphonse, Pinako. Hell, even the military personal were in danger! Edward would lay on his small futon of a bed on quiet nights and think about this, how much he was doing for them, and all he had given up in return.

He would then consider never returning, even if he was released by some miracle. What would they all think of him? They may never want to touch him again for what he's done with Envy. It's obvious by now what his ententions were. Why, though? Why would Envy love- Yes, love, as he often found out. In an obsessive, compulsive, violent way, love is what Envy held for him. Envious love.- him? First, he was male. And, while he didn't necessarily scorn people that were gay, he never expected it of Envy.

Envy was an odd one indeed, but Ed didn't find that endearing, to Envy's hatred.

The first month had been hard, grueling, and trying. The first month, Edward was still furious, and willing to fight. Willing to put all his anger and frustration into Envy and try to kill him, night after continuously long night. As punishment, sometimes, Envy would decide to toy with him roughly. Whippings, chainings (which were just like whippings, but with cold chains, sometimes barbed wire) and other various methods of torture were implemented on him. One of which was where he was tied by his ankles to a robe, had weights applied to his wrists, and where he was dropped repeatedly from some high surface, dislocating his joints from his wrists, to his ankles, to his knees, to his shoulders.

That last torture only happened once before Ed caved. He was taken care of by a medical doctor, apparently held against his will, and a philosophers stone. It did ease the pain, but Edward never forgot.

The various tortures in that first month happened quickly. And some were small. No water for a couple days, no food, but never both at once. Sometimes, no sleep, no using the bathroom. Small tortures like that, which required mind over matter approaches. But the last torture, the one involving him dislocating his joints? That was the worst.

Edward had always known Envy was bad, very bad. So bad he had to be destroyed. But still, he never knew to what degree it was until he was under his care. Envy would force him to clap his hands during their 'lovemaking' as Envy called it. Edward would call it rape, but that argument was always up to par and never went any farther then Envy wanted it to. But Edward would clap and place his hands on his belly as instructed, guided by Envy's hands. He felt some odd presence in his mind thinking of pregnancy at the time, but he didn't understand how that would work.

Edward didn't understand many things anymore, and sometimes it helped him.

Things went faster when you couldn't feel anything.

-x-

It had been five months.

Five months since Winry had been captured, just working on her newest auto mail assignment. Five months since she had struggled in vain for release, hitting him numerous times, throwing curse words at him. And it was five months since she was knocked out.

Five months since she woke up with a gag around her mouth, seemingly held there by needles laced through her cheeks. Five months since she felt her mouth fill with blood, and five months since she thought she would die, drowned by her own blood. Five months since she also reminded herself to breath through her nose. Five months since she squinted at Barry's shadow coming at her, haloed in light. Five months..

Five months since they had confessed, since she asked Ed not to die. Five months since she single-handedly, with all her stupidity, caused Ed's life to go down the flusher. And it had only been five seconds since she thought about it last.

It had been five months since everything had occurred. Since she felt guilt bubble inside until she saw Edward, and felt something new taking its place. Five months since she had truly figured out her weird feelings.

It had been four months since she came out of her guilt-induced stupor. Edward told her he would be back. But he wasn't. He wasn't back. She had begun to pace, feeling her face where the scars from the needle-gag had remained supreme. How could Edward not have noticed?

Oh, that's right.

Barry had come in, before she was released, and, with surprisingly gentle fingers, removed the gag, allowing her to spit the blood that she was forced to swallow for hours. That couldn't be healthy. With that thought, she felt her stomach lurch. She refused to throw up, however. Not in the presence of Barry. She stood straight, spitting more blood into his hollow shell of a body, looking at him defiantly.

Barry raised his large butcher knife in warning before he beckoned to a girl behind him, who rushed forward, carrying all sorts of cosmetic supplies. Wiping the blood off her face, she was forced to sit down, hands being tied behind her back as the girl went to work covering up her wounds.

She remembered how much it hurt when the cover-up burned her wounds, probably infecting them. She could hardly care, though. They were letting her go, which meant Ed was here, which meant..She would see him again.

Just that thought made her slam her hand on the table.

It had been four months since she had gotten over it and decided to do something. Four months since she went into training with both Izumi, and then, later, Roy.

It had been three months since she had teamed up with Alphonse. But first things were first, and Winry figured it was necessary to find Al's body back, first. In the meantime, however, winry created a false body. It still needed to be fed and exercised like a normal human, in order for it to be maintained, and it had the same feelings as a human. Using a complex synthetic skin material, she implanted nerve receptors, allowing Al to have a sense of touch.

It was the closest thing to an actual body Al could ever hope for from Winry.

It had been two months since Al and her had finally set out on a quest to both find Al's body and get Edward back.

It had been one month since they were hurriedly called back to Central on the double.

One month since Winry nearly lost hope of ever finding Ed.

And one week since Edward was found.

-x-

Slamming her fist down on the table, a furied Winry glared into her superior officer's eyes, "Whadda mean you had a feeling he was someplace for a WEEK now!?" she snarled, getting up, knocking her chair over, "Why didn't you send me to check it out?! If he had been there I could have saved him by now! But no thanks to you, he's had to endure mo-" she was cut off by a small hand winding its way around her head and covering her mouth. Angrily, she continued cursing at Roy, who sighed mildly.

Alphonse made a face, "I'm sorry, sir." he says quickly, "She's just, y'know..A little...Worked up.."

Roy nodded, smiling a bit, "You'd be surprised what people do with love, Alphonse." he said calmly, glancing up at Riza who smiled gently at him in response. "Anyway," he started, clearing his throat. "Get the next train tickets you can out of here. It isn't too far away. If you leave tonight, you should get there early in the morning. Here are your specs and a blueprint of the warehouse we found him in." he handed the folder to Winry, who snatched it and began reading immediately.

Alphonse slowly let her mouth free and read over her shoulder, frowning a bit, scratching his synthetic hair. He then nodded and snapped a sharp salute as Winry abruptly stood and dashed out, "Winry!" he snapped angrily at the retreating mop of blonde hair.

Winry paused and turned on her heel, giving a salute in return, "Yessir." she grunted, then darted out once more. Alphonse flashed them a 'sorry' before running after her.

Roy sighed, running a hand through his own onyx-colored hair. "Oi, Riza. D'you think it was wrong to promote Winry into a Major? She's going to be the highest ranking officer there..I don't want to see how she commands men..I feel bad for them.."

Riza glanced up, "She's fine. It was just as good for you to promote her as it was for you to be elected." she said slyly, standing and hugging him from behind affectionately.

Roy smiled and glanced at the ring on her finger, "I'm surprised you've finally wrapped your mind around Mrs. Fuhrer Mustang." he purred, kissing her palm.

Riza laughed a bit, "Of course, Mr. Fuhrer."

"I just love saying that." Roy remarked smugly. "Fuhrer Roy Mustang. Sounds good, don't you agree?"

-x-

Fidgeting was bad.

Really bad. It was a sin against god.

Well, maybe not. But it was bad.

What does fidgeting have to do with this story?

Absolutely nothing.

But Winry was fidgeting. A lot. So much so that Alphonse got tired just watching her. "Winry!" he finally snapped, "Calm down!" he insisted, "Before I have to pin your hands and feet!" he said angrily.

Winry frowned and stilled, biting on a nail to keep from fidgeting. She bit until there was blood, and even then, she moved to her knuckle to continue biting. While she did this, she watched the trees rush past, and the hills seem to move in waves, up and down, up and down, up and down..

She didn't remember it, but she must have fallen asleep, because when she woke up, she was in a hotel room covered in a blanket. "Edward!" she cried, shooting out of bed. Alphonse grunted and she cursed avidly. She couldn't go rescue him now, but she was so close..She could almost feel him..Sighing, she settled back into bed. Maybe she could get some sleep after all tonight. Once more, she drifted off into a little phase in between sleep and reality.

-x-

In the morning, she was the first one up and at the warehouse. First one to rile the troops, the fire behind her blue eyes cold and demanding. The gun at her hip shone brightly in the rising sun, and Alphonse arrived at 7 am, what he thought would be plenty early.

Wrong.

Winry was rearing to go. She actually had men holding her back to keep her from slamming into the door. However, when they saw Alphonse, they let her go, swallowing and preparing themselves for what was to come. Alphonse was about to shout before he merely went in after her, ordering the men to follow in slowly behind him, line up against the walls, and wait.

Winry was oblivious to all of this as she fired two shots into the air, "Envy you bastard!" she shouted, imitating Edward's words five months ago, "Come out so I can shoot you until you're dead!" she snarled, shooting various cargo boxes before she paused.

It was then she finally took in her surroundings.

Damp walls and flooring which smelled like blood and urine, was basically what it was made of. Randomly there would be pillars of cement, mold creeping up the sides and adding to the decayed atmosphere. Everywhere there were wet, moldy boxes, which didnt look like they could be touched without them collapsing on themselves. Various kinds of algae grew on them and the floor, and she cringed, making a face.

That's when she noticed the light.

One light, hanging from the ceiling, turned on. It was small, but she could see it. Quickly she made her way to it, weaving through the maze of boxes. Finally she panted as she saw it closer and swallowed, getting her barings and preparing herself, "Come out!" she snapped, then paused.

There, underneath the light, was merely Edward, laying battered and broken, although stubbornly holding himself up by his automail arm. He wasn't facing her. But slowly, at the sound of her caught breath, dark blonde, bloodstained, dirty, greasy hair flipped as a pale, battered face turned to look at her.

She felt her heart clench in her chest.

While she had her mouth seemingly sewn shut, Edward was battered everywhere. There was a series of messy stitches down the side of his face and across his jaw, and there were large circles underneath his eyes. Winry gasped most at his eyes. They were still there, yes, but they were glazed over as if they belonged to a doll. "E-Edward?" she asked timidly, moving to his side, kneeling down by him, eyes wide as she paled considerably.

His souless gaze moved up her scar-painted arms and then to her face.

That's when he collapsed.


	3. Help

A/N: Sort of a short chapter, but this is basically what happened in the last chapter from Edward's point of view and stuff. O: I wanted to thank everyone for their kind reviews. This is my first time writing EdxWinry, so I hope I'm doing the couple justice. 83 Anyways, we'll get to the nicer stuff later on, don't worry. Butlike, ch'a. I hope you enjoy this chapter. It randomly came to me, it did. I've been sick for a while. So if it's been a while since no update, I'm sorry. ;;

Anyways, same story as always, read and review, please:D

Disclaimer: Don't own anything, and I probably never will.

-x-

When Edward awoke, he was in a white, crisp, clean hospital bed. Light streamed in from the large window to his left, and he cringed, bringing his hand to his head and inhaling sharply when a large pain ran from where his automail was connected at his shoulder, across his shoulders, and down his other arm, along with down his back, "What the hell?.." he said groggily, frowning a bit angrily as he tried to look around and noticed that the only way he could was if he wished to cause himself extreme pain.

He did not wish to cause himself extreme pain.

So, with a frustrated little growl, he leaned his head back and closed his eyes against the bright sunlight, frowning as he did. He could hear the steady little beeps of the medicine drip, and he scowled a bit more, eyebrows furrowing together. When had this happened? He remembered so little..

-x-

"Hello there, my little Edward." came a silken voice, laden with contempt and malice, however somehow it oozed a faux kind of love, only heard about in twisted, sick novels. He didn't even lift his head off his pillow, which consisted of his own red jacket. He heard the light footsteps tap their way over to him, then felt the yank as his hair was pulled, causing his head to be pulled up as well. He groaned softly as claw-like fingertips slid over his cheek and across his neck- drawing blood, but not slicing deep enough to kill him. "You didn't answer me, Edward." came that sickly voice once more, oozing compassion that Edward was all too aware was a facade. "Now, you know how bad that is. I think you should apologize."

Edward said nothing at first. He felt rebellious, and he held his tongue, his gold eyes- much dulled due to the experience- glinting in one of his rare bouts of defiance. As the clawed hands found their way to his shoulder, he frowned, body tensing subconsciously. He closed his eyes as he tried to relax them, for he knew it would hurt all the more if he was tense and he struggled. That's when it happened, and pain exploded behind his eyes before he was fully aware of what was happening. Then he felt it spreading.

Envy had transformed his lithe fingertips into complete daggers. His fingers were inserted into his shoulder to the final knuckle, and he felt them scrape against the bone, and cried out as the lethal fingers were dragged across the expanse of his shoulders, down his other arm. When they withdrew, Edward closed his eyes tightly, biting his lip until it bled in order to hold the tears which threatened to expose themselves. When he still said nothing, however, he felt the dagger-like extensions insert themselves once more in his skin, and this time he felt them cut downward, along his spine. "I'm Sorry!" he cried loudly, shaking as they dug deeper.

At this, his tormentor paused, "What was that, Edward?" he said lightly, and he felt the knives slowly begin once more, their descent slowly ripping apart his skin and muscle tissue, "I'm sorry," he continued, "I didn't seem to hear."

And with that, Edward collapsed once more, a choked sob bubbling from his pale, gray-tinted lips, "I'm-I'm sor-sorry, M..M.." he couldn't bring himself to say it. The ultimate word that Envy enjoyed most of all. He knew he liked being called it, and he knew that's what he wanted now. "Master." he breathed. Envy did not stop, and Edward cried out once more, "Master!" before shutting his eyes tightly.

The pain receded and stopped, and Edward let out a shaky sigh, tears still falling from his eyes as the color drained from him. "Good boy." Envy purred, standing, "I'll have Alicia take care of you." as Edward heard Envy leave, he swallowed and let another sob escape him, once he was throughly muffled by his jacket/pillow.

Alicia was the woman in charge of taking care of him. He knew she was being forced here, because she was always just as pale as he was, yet ate less. Her wounds were never taken care of, and sometimes he saw large, sloppy stitches where she had tried to sew herself up. She was another captive in this sick game Envy played, and her name reminded him all too much of the outside world. He called her Allie, in order to keep his numb appeal to his current situation. The only memory he would bear to focus on was one person. Two people, really. But one in particular always stood out.

As she came into the room now, he didn't hear her, but noticed when she gently peeled off what was left of his ratty black shirt. He heard a smothered gasp come from her, and he gave a dry laugh, cutting it off quickly due to the movement wounding his already severe injuries, "Feels worse then it looks." he admitted, "Just patch me up. I have no intention of dying due to blood loss ." he said curtly.

As she did so without a word, he hissed softly into his bicep as she applied an ointment that made his skin feel like she had set his blood aflame, then frowned deeply as he felt the stitches begin to take place, the careful strokes of the thin, strong string, "What color is it this time?" he knew it was Envy who did the shopping, and he knew that Envy found it funny to buy different color stitching.

Allie never really spoke, and he didn't mean to make her speak now. He didn't like forcing people into doing anything, and he knew that, like Rose, Allie had something done to her which made it so she would never wish to speak again, but she did on some occasions, especially when it was only with him. Now was one of those rare times, "Blue." she said, then went back to sewing.

Edward held out his arm when she tapped for it in order to sew down it, and he laughed a bit, "Blue. That bastard." he had no idea why blue was so bad, but he just didn't like anything about him. He felt faint all of a sudden, and he cringed. Blood loss. He felt Allie's presence vanish, and he warily closed his eyes. Too much exertion..All he wanted to do was sleep..It sounded so good..

It seemed as if he had only just sunk into his sleep when he was grabbed roughly and hauled to his feet by a cold suit of armor. "Yer girlfriend's come for ya" he said cheerfully, "Ah, I remember when I got to play with her.." Barry the Chopper sighed happily, "She was a fun one. Always kickin' and squealin' and cursing. Y'know, she had quite the dirty little mouth on 'er. I was surprised. But I guess I shouldn't have been.." he giggled happily, "Either way, it made me a happy little chopper it did." he purred.

Edward opened an eye to give Barry a furied glare, croaking, "I'll kill you." in a hoarse, rough voice. In reply, he received an evil laugh, which sent his ears ringing and the area around him swirling. Blood loss. Damn it all. Barry shoved him roughly against some sort of box and turned to leave. "Wait," he said, "Where's Envy going to be?" he demanded angrily. Winry...Winry was coming to get him. And she was in danger again. He had to make sure she was safe!

In response, Barry cackled once more, "Oh, don't worry about that." he said, and vanished into the shadows.

Edward smelled mildew. Mildew, mold, water, dust, blood, urine..He cringed, and gagged, looking up into a single light, the only one in the entire fucking warehouse. Where was he? He had no idea. He was hardly conscious for most of it. And if he was, he wasn't really there. He pushed his automail arm up and locked it in place. He would not look just limp and dying. He would be strong. He'd survived all this time, and if Winry had come to get him..She wouldn't so foolish as to come in single handedly. At least, he hoped not. Winry in one of her rages could get pretty foolish. He almost smiled at the fact, eyelids drooping. That nap sounded really good..And, y'know...He had time to kill...

He heard a door crash open, and he smiled vaguely. "Winry.." he said softly, "Over here.." he said in a hoarse whisper. He knew she couldn't hear him, but he tried anyway. He would destroy himself if he even tried to yell. He hardly had any energy as is.

Closing his eyes tightly, he fought to open them once more, and when he did, he could have sworn he heard someone...Someone singing. In a sickly sweet voice which just oozed faux compassion and understanding.. "_Rock-a-bye, baby_..._In the tree top_..." It was faint, like a whisper, though it was clear as day.

As he opened his eyes, he saw her. Winry. She was standing over him and he opened his mouth, about to tell her of the rouge voice he heard. About to tell her about everything, about to tell her he loved her, he missed her, he was happy to see her..Anything..The look on her face was too much for him to bear. He had to say something. He had to speak, he had to tell her he was alright, he was here, he was alive, and he didn't plan on changing that anytime soon.

But he closed his mouth as the haunting song continued, "_When the wind blows_..._the cradle will rock._.._when the bough breaks_..._the cradle will fall_..." The last word seemed to be hissed out at him, and he shuddered. He saw Winry's face turn to agonized guilt as he hardly comprehended. She was speaking to him. "It's okay," she murmured, "It'll be okay." she was repeating this over and over again under her breath. "Edward...Oh, Edward..." she began repeating his name, now, too, and he longed to repeat hers. To hold her and tell her he was alright..

But then, he felt the stitches in his lower back being brutally ripped out, and he felt a burning pain that made him want to cry out. But he had no cries left, he had no more left in him, and then he felt it. Something was being inserted into his back, like a needle. His eyes clouded over as the metal barb seemed to dig into his skin, and never leave. He stiffened, and the last thing he saw before his eyes closed was Winry's large, pale blue eyes, wide as saucers. He read her lips- she was crying out his name, now. She was crying too...His heart broke, but he had no time to voice this as he went limp in her arms.

"_And down will come baby_..._cradle and all_."


	4. Intermission whut

Wow. I really don't know what to say.

First off, I would like to apologize for my lack of updating since… Uh, more then a year ago. I have full intentions to, I just got overwhelmed, to be honest. However, I wish to continue this, and I'm glad that you're all reviewing. Odd as it is, I'm still getting reviews and favorites and watches from this story…

I'm so glad you all like it! I re-read this and find so many errors I made, and I realize that man, this next chapter that I'm writing is going to have such a better flow…Perhaps make more sense. So what if I don't remember the exact line my story was going to take? I have a new one now, and that's perfectly fine, too. 8D

Also, if you read Green Tint? I intend to continue that as well.

Jeez, guys. Yeah, sorry to get your hopes up for another chapter, I just wanted to give you guys a heads up on where things were. Buuttt… since you've hung in with me for all this time, I think maybe I'll give you a bit of a sample, hm? Just to get your taste buds all a-tizzy.

Oh, and I know it annoys some people by me having a fic in English, but adding things like "Edo" and "chibi". That's what I now call fanbrat Japanese, and I'm sorry if it irritated you. I'm going to stop being Japanese now, so. 8D; hopefully you won't hate me so much! Hehe.

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The cradle will fall…The _cradle_…Will… Dammit, what could that _mean_? How could that have any…What the _hell _did Envy… Oh, this was pointless! Thinking was nearly impossible for the blonde youth, still strung up in a hospital bed. Since he had returned, he was…not himself. Who would be, after all? After what he had been put through… Urgh. He knew it wasn't his fault, and he_ knew_ he couldn't do anything about it, but just _thinking_ about what that bastard had done to him made him…Made him…

Want to vomit.

What a completely weak-thinking thing, coming from him. He was Edward Elric! He was a prodigy! He was…He was… He was completely useless. Lying to himself, now, was he? Trying to make himself feel as if he hadn't allowed himself to be victimized? That place was a hell, of this he was aware. But…Now that he was done with the ordeal, he couldn't help but feel paranoid. He couldn't help but want to look over his shoulder at every little noise. He just wanted to get out of the stupid hospital. They had said he was fine, apparently, but the mental scarring…

Bah, what mental scarring? He'd been confronted with a demon with his mother's face! He'd single-handedly ruined his brother's life! He'd seen things so horrible, it wasn't comparable!

So why did this one little occurrence have such an adverse effect upon him? It made no sense, not to the boy, at least. Of course, looking at this from someone else's standpoint was an entirely different matter. Of course it made sense that he would be twitchy! Of course it would make sense that he be weary about who he sees! Of course, of course- Oh, damnit, he wished they would all just shut the hell up already! Why the hell did people expect him to be psycho-analyzed all the time? Why couldn't they just shut up, say he was fine, and let him go kick some serious homunculi asshole?

He leaned back, cringing as a pain went through his spine. And just _what the hell_ was that damn needle-thing for, and why hadn't the doctors noticed to remove it?

Sighing, he put a hand to his forehead to cover his eyes, frowning. It was going to be a sweet, sweet victory once he was allowed out.

Assholes.

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Hah! To be continued, then!


End file.
